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Summary of Redistricting Issues
Review the issues below by clicking each issue link. Click Next Issue > at the bottom of each issue page to advance through all the issues.
Next Topic: Redraw district lines keeping these issues in mind.
One person-one vote should be observed so each district has approximately the same number of people in it. ( + or - 5% to 10%).
The U.S. Supreme Court decisions in the 1960's clarified the constitutional intent to provide equity of representation for all Americans in both U.S. Congressional Districts and in state legislative districts.
According to the Congressional Apportionment Census 2000 Brief, each district should have 646,952 residents to preserve the one person-one vote principle.
However, if a state only qualifies for one representative, this exact district size may not be possible. In the 2000 Census, Montana has 905,316 people in their apportioned population but only 1 representative in the House of Representatives.The goal of political parties in redistricting is to become the majority or ruling party in the legislature. This is achieved by creating districts that will result in the election of political party members to a majority of district seats.
The majority party controls the committees and procedures in legislative organizations such as Congress and state legislatures. The majority party can pass more laws that support their views.
Therefore, political parties would like to have districts drawn where their party members are more likely to be elected.
In the 107th Congress, New York State has 19 Democrats and 12 Republicans to the House of Representatives. Republicans are the majority party in the House.
In the NYS redistricting process, 2 seats must be eliminated from the NYS delegation to the House of Representatives.
Each party will hope to eliminate 2 seats of the opposing party. They will also hope to re-draw distict lines that favor their party's election of members.
The NYS Joint Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment makes the redistricting recommendations for new Congressional districts. Their political party affiliations can impact the recommendations they make.
In 2001-2002 NYS Joint Task Force there are:
- 3 Democrats
- 3 Republicans
- The Republican Governor can veto the recommendations.
In New York State, two Congressional seats must be eliminated. The recommendations should try to prevent two incumbent representatives from living in a new district. If two incumbents live in the same new district they will have to run against each other for the new Congressional seat.
Compactness & Contiguity: Districts should be drawn to cover a compact area with a solid shape. All parts of the district should be connected.
Political subdivisions & original districts: District lines should be drawn without dividing existing local, state and federal districts any more than necessary. Boundaries should be altered rather than dividing the main district.
When districts are drawn they should not have odd shapes in order to incorporate one political party, one interest group or racial/ethnic group. Political subdivisions should also be preserved whenever possible.See Illustrations of Good & Irregular Redistricting Examples
Preserve Communities of Interest:District lines should be drawn without carving up neighborhoods or groups of people living in an area that have similar interests and have always been represented together. Communities of interest may include a groups close geography, social and economic interests.
Communities of Interest include:
- Geographic regions such as neighborhoods, towns, villages.
- Economic interests such as transportation systems, or jobs from a particular industry base.
- Social interests such as culture and ethnicity.
Draw districts so that racial/ethnic minorities have a chance to vote in a member of their group as a representative. However, districts can not be created with this as the only consideration. Further, minority "dilution" or "packing" are not permitted.
Minority dilution or cracking:
The redistricting process can not dilute a minority vote in an existing district by splitting the minority vote among multiple new districts.
Minority packing: The new district cannot take existing minorities from multiple districts and pack them into one new district.
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